FAST weight loss vs SLOW weight loss. Which is better?

[foggyduo]

Whenever I tell someone that I have lost 5.7kg in 3 weeks they are all HORRIFIED. Basically they say "That is too fast, be careful, your health could be affected, it will come back fast".. etc. etc. etc.

I'm sure some of you on this forum would also have had similar comments thrown at you. Well, here is something worth chewing over (no carb in it, promise!), which should make us all happy!

Follow this link, and read the story in the Singapore newspaper, based on a US study! You can read it up by clicking HERE

Koh here> It seems Foggyduo's original link is no longer valid. So, instead, I wanted to add this one (so you'll have a frame of reference)
http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/05/09/for-weight-loss-does-slow-and-steady-really-win-the-day/

[kenga]

Thanks for this Sheila - great news!

I haven't been told that I'm losing fast but I've heard the argument that slower weight loss is better - I never understood why though - is it much better to keep the fat around your hearth for 2-3-4-6 months more because????????

Don't forget that this plan is invented by a medical dr., it is called a 'rapid weight loss' program and it's been around for a while so I'm not worried one little bit.

I can assure you that you will most likely hear plenty more comments - too fast, too thin, one mouthfull won't do anything etc.

Just keep up the good work Sheila!

[gottogo]

I just read this article and must say it sounds like we are all on the right track. Yipee Thanks for the link.

[Kohinoor]

Hi Foggy,

Good link !! I'm firmly of the opinion that those with a lot to lose will do it best by losing it quickly, healthwise.

First off, those experiencing heart palpitations, and High Blood Pressure, can only be doing themselves good by losing it faster. There "could" be an argument for slowing it down once they are out of physical danger, and that is simply because I've seen a few that weren't able to have their minds "catch up" or keep up with the speed of the journey. I suspect it is all about "making changes to their auto-pilot" which can be achieved if they are able to school their mind, as they lose the weight.

Many on here who are "back for a second time", are now able to "see" things from a completely different perspective :-
1. Having "been there" before, they really KNOW what awaits them second time around (it's not so scarey after all)
2. There doesn't seem to be the same "urgency" when facing it second time around (thus, they are more settled in their approach)
3. There are fewer "concerns" this time over MANY things - skin, hair-loss, friends reactions, etc.
4. They have more KNOWLEDGE re refeeding and maintenance and have had the time to rationalise all of these ahead of "starting again".

As I posted elsewhere this morning, the weightloss bit is easy!! But it is the mental side of things that requires the real effort. And, if it means "coming back to Cohens with a new perspective" later on, it all sounds good to me.

One other thing that is ALWAYS going to have "slow weightloss" on the back foot, is the fact that it takes so long !!! Long enough to get bored, complacent, etc. Having it move fast seems to lead to euphoria, happiness, and even determination to succeed. Take steps to bring the mind up to speed too, and you can't do better than that (IMHO)

Koh

[Shanara]

Try telling someone with 30 , 40, 50, 60 + kilos they are going to loose it at .23 - .5 kilos a week. Enough to drive anyone to chocolate!

Yeah for Dr C!

Thanks Foggy for the ammo to the doubting Thomas's - particularly old school doctors.

Shanara

[jlou]

I agree!! No time to lose motivation here - a plateau only lasts a few days or a week not months!!

Scary that 2/3 of US adults and 1/3 of kids are overweight or obese. In the land of size zero.... Such stark contrasts..... Wonder what the stats for australia are???

[sundaymorningstaple]

Originally Posted by jlou

Scary that 2/3 of US adults and 1/3 of kids are overweight or obese. In the land of size zero.... Such stark contrasts..... Wonder what the stats for australia are???

Well, you all knocked us out of 1st place 2 years ago as the most obese nation on earth (arguable), so I shudder to think!

[mcpsych]

Aussies win everything- Aussie Aussie Aussie
oi
oi
oi

[littlemiss]

if it's any consolation, asia is catching up.. damn you globalisation and macdonalds!

[Future Yummy Mummy]

Thanks for the link. Nice to have some scientific evidence to throw back at people.

And yeah, when you have a lot to lose you NEED to lose it fast to keep motivated.

[carrieanne_c]

Bizarre, more countries in the top ten Croatia-Serbia-Israel-Serbia-Germany-England.

But back to slow versus fast, I just saw an ad for a pill they are advertising here in Spain called "Alli" you eat it with meals and it blocks 25%of the fat in the meal from being absorbed into the body. With the imaginable side efects that you get with unabsorbed fat- ie. If you eat a low fat meal perhaps with 80g of fat, 20 g would be eliminated (in your doody) with out being digested, not too, bad but if you mess up and over eat on your fat and say eat burgers and fries etc, you would have to eliminate a lot more undigested fat; with its consequences(flatulence, cramping, looseness, etc.etc.) do you wonder what was the typical weight loss was? -5-10 pounds in six months.

So Cohen is like six times faster- with hardly any side effects-(¿hairloss,lack of poo?dry skin) It didn't say how much the pills are on the web page and also the strange thing is that the two "real life stories" on the page showed the people as still being totally overweight.

I'll stick with being coheny!

[divineparadise]

I am having another slow week again with only 700g loss. But my friends are saying that losing 0.5 to 1kg a week is healthier... seems like this report gives a different perspective!

[mcpsych]

Yes essentially those pills simply make you crap pure oil
oneside effect is a lack of control it being liquids
not a good look eh?

[carrieanne_c]

mmm the song "slip slidin' away comes to mind", diva-you overall is still more than a kilo a week though, isnt it?

[louise41]

Great article, it confirms what I thought! I personnally find I am more motivated if i lose weight quickly, if I dont I am more inclined to go off the program.
Those tablets are designed partly to change behaviour as you have an "adverse event" if you eat too much fat. If people continue to eat too much fat they can become faecally incontinent which I imagine would be a hige deterent. At the end of the day they still need to eat healthily as if they dont modify their eating they will have to spend the day on the toilet. So why not go straight to a program that teaches you to do that and save the embarassment and cost of the tablets!!

[carrieanne_c]

I know and on top of all that, the loss is so slow.

[WSM]

Originally Posted by louise41

Great article, it confirms what I thought! I personnally find I am more motivated if i lose weight quickly, if I dont I am more inclined to go off the program.
Those tablets are designed partly to change behaviour as you have an "adverse event" if you eat too much fat. If people continue to eat too much fat they can become faecally incontinent which I imagine would be a hige deterent. At the end of the day they still need to eat healthily as if they dont modify their eating they will have to spend the day on the toilet. So why not go straight to a program that teaches you to do that and save the embarassment and cost of the tablets!!

Well put! The medication used to be sold by prescription only and was called Zenical. I knew somebody who took it and she lost a mammoth amount of weight. And as Louise said, it's designed to retrain you (go Pavlov). Her most embarrassing moment was having to wear an adult nappy under her bridesmaids dress just in case she had an accident...

[carrieanne_c]

lost a ppost, just wanted to say , I think the tough love 10k club will be enough retraining for me- I would hate to have to wear a depends diaper by choice.well maybe when i am 100 years old and senile anyway. this sounds just as unhealthy as lapbands.

[Kohinoor]

Since Foggyduo's original link is now not working, I chose to "go looking" and found this one:-
http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/05/09/for-weight-loss-does-slow-and-steady-really-win-the-day/

Seemed to me to be good "middle-of-the-road" info in it,

Koh